Record Year for Norwegian Seafood. "Norwegian seafood has never enjoyed a stronger position in the world market. Despite the collapse of the Russian export market due to sanctions this year, the Norwegian seafood industry has shown it can adapt to meet the needs of new markets. The result has been record export figures for salmon, cod and mackerel", says Terje E. Martinussen, Chief Executive of Norwegian Seafood. The total export of NOK 68.8 billion (€7.5 billion) was 12 percent higher than in 2013. Because of the Russian import ban that came into force on August 7, export to Russia reached only NOK

As the Arctic Melts, the US Needs to Pay Attention. In a few short months the United States assumes Chair of the Arctic Council (AC). This is a two-year long opportunity to shape the future of the Arctic, an opportunity that will likely not come around again until the year 2031. Are we ready for the challenge? Rapid climactic shifts in the Arctic are the nearest and the most consequential climate-related risks to security. There are challenges to be sure, including the devastation caused by rising sea levels. There are also opportunities - for geopolitical influence, research, and commerce. To address these, the Center for New American Security recently published Arctic 2015 and Beyond: A Strategy for US Leadership in the High North. The Conversation

2014 is Warmest Year on Record in Alaska. It's official - 2014 was the warmest year on record for the state of Alaska. The United States National Weather Service Alaska made the announcement on its Facebook page this week based on information from the National Climatic Data Center. The data center, a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is charged with storing, monitoring, assessing and providing public access to climate data and historical weather data from across the country. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 

Fulbright Arctic Initiative. The Fulbright Arctic Initiative will bring together a network of scholars, professionals and applied researchers from the United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden for a series of three seminar meetings and a Fulbright exchange experience. At its core, the Fulbright Arctic Initiative will create a network to stimulate international scientific collaboration on Arctic issues while increasing mutual understanding between people of the United States and the people of other countries.  Using a collaborative model to translate theory into practice, program participants will address public-policy research questions relevant to Arctic nations' shared challenges. The Visiting Scholar application deadline is February 2, 2015.  The US Scholar application deadline is February 16, 2015. Fulbright Scholar Program

Boise State Student Awarded Grant to Study Gyrfalcons. In 2013, the Peregrine Fund began collaborating on a research project with Boise State to help increase a general understanding about the gyrfalcon and how it's affected by climate change. Bryce Robinson, a graduate student from Boise State's raptor biology program, was awarded a $10,000 grant to support research for his masters thesis on gyrfalcons in Alaska, along with co-author David Anderson, a recent graduate of the program. Robinson's thesis is titled, "Gyrfalcon diet during the nestling period on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska." The Arbiter

Dmitry Medvedev Signs Decree on Establishment of Arctic Support Base in Roslyakovo (Murmansk Region). Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev has signed a Decree allowing Rosneft create an Arctic support base at Roslyakovo settlement (Murmansk Region). The document has been published at the website of RF Government. According to the Presidential Decree No 603, closed administrative-territorial entity Severomorsk of the Murmansk Region has been reorganized from January 1, 2015 through separating of Roslyakovo with the adjacent territory. Port News

Russia's Northern Fleet Receives S-400 Air Defense Systems. Russia's Northern Fleet has increased its air defense capability with the addition of S-400 Triumph air defense missile systems, the Fleet's spokesperson Vadim Serga said Friday. "A division of air defense of the Northern Fleet has adopted into service new S-400 Triumph air defense missile systems," Serga stated without giving further details. The S-400 Triumph long- to medium-range surface-to-air missile system can engage any aerial target, including aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and cruise and ballistic missiles at a distance of up to 400 kilometers (250 miles) and an altitude of up to 30 kilometers (18.6 miles). Space Daily

Why Alaska's Arctic Tundra is Slowly Sinking. As pungent eucalyptus trees soaked up inches of California rain, a few researchers inside San Francisco's Moscone Center spoke of the treeless third of Alaska at the 2014 fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union, which attracted more than 20,000 Earth and space scientists to San Francisco in late December. Their findings: Some of Alaska's tundra is slowly sinking and in at least one place it has tripled in weight recently. Alaska's tundra landscapes carpet a good portion of the state, from the North Slope to the elbow of the Alaska Peninsula. Tundra is a gathering of hardy shrubs, sedges, grasses, mosses and lichen that live in knee-high communities above soil frozen as hard as concrete. Alaska Dispatch News

NASA Langley Leads in Arctic Sea Ice Research. For 15 years now, scientists have chronicled Arctic sea ice in rapid retreat and the region's temperatures rising much faster than anywhere else on the planet. They just don't know how exactly, or why. But climate scientists at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton are leading two projects dedicated to help find the answers. Daily Press